Paramount Pictures has named Ted Schilowitz its first-ever Futurist in Residence, the studio announced Thursday. Schilowitz will reporting jointly to Paramount chairman/CEO Jim Gianopulos and COO Andrew Gumpert.

In his new role, Schilowitz will work closely with the Paramount and Viacom technology teams to explore all forms of new and emerging technologies, with an emphasis on virtual reality and augmented reality.

Prior to joining Paramount, Schilowitz was a consulting Futurist at 20th Century Fox, where he worked on the evolving art and science of advanced motion picture creation and created strategy on future technology and vision of cinema for the next generation of movie entertainment.

“Ted has been an integral part of the film industry’s innovation into next generation visual storytelling. He has been a pioneer throughout the industry’s constant technological evolution and can identify what is and what will be relevant and important to movie-goers. He will be an incredible asset to the Paramount team,” Gianopulos and Gumpert said in a joint statement.

“From Immersive Cinema to Augmented Reality and beyond, I’m excited to work with the Paramount and Viacom teams to discover and implement the latest technological advancements and create strategies that will enhance the audience’s experiences across Paramount’s movie, television, and interactive content,” added Schilowitz.

Schilowitz was a founding member and an integral part of the product development team at RED Digital Cinema, as well as one of the founders and creators of the G-Tech product line of advanced hard drive storage products that are utilized worldwide. Prior to RED Digital Cinema and G-Tech, he was on the team that developed and launched the Macintosh products desktop video division of AJA Video Systems that created the groundbreaking Kona Cards and IO boxes in tandem with Apple.

Schilowitz continues in his role as chief creative officer at Barco Escape, where he’s been spearheading the creative aspects of the Barco Escape cinema project that adds immersive right and left screens to movie theaters. Barco Escape titles include Paramount’s Star Trek Beyond and 20th Century Fox’s two Maze Runner movies.

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